Korean govt provides US$5 million for 2020 Master’s Degree Programme

The Republic of Korea government has provided more than US$5 million in support to Laos for the Master’s Degree Programme of 2020.
The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) Laos office reported on Tuesday that the scholarships for the Master’s Degree Programme include tuition, living allowances, cultural activities, research grants and more.

Embassy of the Republic of Korea to Laos and the Ministry of Education and Sports held the 2020 Korea Master’s Degree Scholarship Award presentation ceremony in Vientiane on Tuesday together with the KOICA and Korea Foundation for International Healthcare (KOFIH) Laos Offices.
Minister of Education and Sports, Mrs Sengdeuane Lachanthaboun, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Laos, Mr Shin Sung-Soon and guests from partner ministries, and Lao students and other candidates from relevant departments attended the ceremony.
The 2020 Korea Master’s Degree Scholarship Award is the combination of three Korean Governmental Scholarships - Global Korea Scholarship (GKS), KOICA Scholarship Programme, and the KOFIH Programme inviting 35 Lao students and government officers for 2020; 11 from GKS, 14 from KOICA, and 10 from KOFIH. The 35 grantees, made up of Lao students, and private and public sector officials, will study in various fields such as education, public policy, agriculture, aviation and others which are all essential to sustainable development in Laos.
The programme aims to encourage Lao students and officials nationwide to apply for scholarships so they can improve their knowledge and abilities thereby building human resource capital.
Korean Ambassador Mr Shin Sung-Soon emphasised that human capital development was one of the most pressing issues in Laos and a key attribute of Korea’s successful economic development. He encouraged the scholarship grantees saying “National development indeed depends more on the quality of human resources than on the quality of the material economy. And that is where education gets its importance”. 
Furthermore, Mrs Sengdeuane Lachanthaboun expressed her gratitude to the Republic of Korea as one of Laos’s outstanding development partners, who has made a substantial contribution to human capital development to serve Laos’ socio-economic development.
During the ceremony, Mrs Vilayphone Xaysongkhame, Technical Officer from the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare and representative of successful candidates (KOICA Scholarship), expressed her appreciation to the Korean government for supporting the master’s degree scholarship for Lao people and hoped the assistance would continue.
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the Korean government is rolling out quick and widespread testing based on a stable healthcare system while ensuring freedom of the press so that the public can access transparent information about the government response and with people’s solidarity. Therefore, Lao students and grantees will receive full support and a safety net while studying in Korea.
The governments of the Republic of Korea and Laos hope the scholarships will produce future leaders and bring the two countries closer by promoting active people-to-people cooperation and sustainable development and co-prosperity.
Korea Scholarship Alumni have increased around threefold compared to several years ago. For example, through the KOICA Fellowship, there are now more than 2,500 Lao alumni since 1991. And for postgraduates, the KOICA Scholarship Programme has 107 master’s degree alumni so far including 14 new candidates for this year.
KOFIH has so far invited 177 Lao medical personnel to Korea through the Lee Jong Wook Fellowship Programme. For 2020, KOFIH launched a new master’s degree programme in health-related fields, and 10 candidates have been selected. These efforts, including the GKS, KOICA, and KOFIH scholarship programme for graduate students, aim to help build a sustainable development model in Laos.

By Times Reporters
(Latest Update August 5, 2020)